News

“This one is alive too!” Rhaen was waving for help, squatting next to a man close to the big double doors of the barn. He was leaning against them as if he’d pulled them shut, then collapsed against them. Protecting whatever was inside. Together, Rhean and Elian carried the unconscious man to the small courtyard where the other wounded were being treated. 

So far, only one grave would need to be dug. It could've been much worse. 

Despite Theo and Mariah insisting they’d make use of the beds and other comforts inside the houses, a small camp now occupied the small courtyard between the residential buildings. Soup and tea were boiling over a fire, and Healer Soath, an elderly Lykar woman with the kindest eyes Elian had ever seen, was tending to the wounded with some help from Ryn. Cuts were cleaned, stitched, and covered with pain-numbing poultice. Bones were reset and fixed with sticks and strips of fabric. 

The improvised hospital wing had only four severely injured patients, two hovering on the brink of death. An additional five were able to move around, some on crude crutches, others gingerly touching their bandaged heads or ribs. Even counting Theo's family, that was fewer inhabitants than expected for a farmstead this size.

Theo's stump had been tightly wrapped in clean bandages, and he was sipping their most potent healing tea to help replenish all the blood he'd lost. The stuff was incredibly bitter, but he never let it show on his face as he kept drinking it, accepting a refill each time the cup drew empty. His two girls had eventually left his side and were chatting with the pups who were proudly showing off their skill in speaking human.

Elian took Mariah to the side, to where the dead body of an old man had been laid to rest on a colorful blanket. Another blanket covered the fact that he'd been almost cut in half. A short sword was placed over his chest, his fingers wrapped around the hilt. The way the Lykar would place their dead on their final pyre.

"You... bury your dead, right? Like the people in the kingdom do?" A field filled with lines of stones and flowers came to his mind. All cities he'd visited had one. "Or shall we prepare a pyre?" 

"Oh, Gramps Reder." Her eyes filled with tears as she looked down at the man.

"He was your grandfather? I'm sorry for your loss."

"No," she smiled sadly, her arms wrapping around her chest. "Everybody just called him Gramps because he was so old."

"He died protecting his home and those he loved," Elian repeated the words he'd heard so many times. 

"Yes." She wiped at her face. "And yes, we bury our dead. I'll show you where..."

They stood in silence for a while, then returned to the courtyard, where she told her husband and the others the sad news. The soup was eaten in silence, then Kaer and Kaia got up and walked over.

“We’ll scout the area,” Kaer said. “Make sure everything’s safe.”

“And perhaps find dinner.” Kaia patted her trusty bow. “These people will need hearty food to regain their strength.”

“Good idea. Thank you,” Elian nodded, eying the almost empty quiver at her hip.

She pulled an arrow out and let her fingers trace the short, dark feathers at its end. 

“Only three left, so I’ll need to make more. Do you think there are turkey-birds in this area? Their tail feathers are my favorites.”

“There should be. Unless they fled the area.” He turned to ask the farmsteaders, who nodded.

“There are both turkeys and pheasants. Also bunnyrats and piglets. They like to hide in the grass and bushes close to the small creek. That way.” He pointed away from the hill, past the trampled cornfield.

“We also have sheep and chickens,” one of the girls piped up, then her face fell. They’d all seen what happened to the farm’s animals.

“I’m sure some of the chickens survived,” her father assured her. “Some must've flown away.”

"Yes..." Her eyes widened, a hand going to her mouth. "But... the cat… and the kittens?”

“I’m sure they’re fine. I’ve never heard the bugs going for cats," Elian reassured her. "They’re too fast and clever.”

She looked relieved, even more so when Myan started bombarding her with questions about the kittens and if they really were as great hunters as the rumours said.

Elian translated the hunting information for Kaer and Kaia, who nodded. 

“I’ll ask about news once everyone’s settled down.”

“Thank you. We appreciate it. We’ll be back before second moonrise.” Then they were off.

Most of the other Lykar also got up.

“We’ll start repairing the fences, in case some of your animals got away,” Rhaen said, then pointing to the pups. “Why don’t you lot go over the fields to see what can be salvaged? There must be some crops left.”

“Sure. We’ll help.” They got up, looking around. “Do you have any baskets? To put stuff in?”

“Baskets? Of course.” The older girl got up, followed by her sister. “In here, in the kitchen.” They all trotted inside the house, the pups’ ears moving back and forth as they looked around. It must’ve been the first time any of them had been inside a solid building.

Should he join the repairs? It seemed to be going well without him, so instead he turned to the other humans. Except for small glimpses from a distance, these were the first ones he’d spoken to since…

“Here,” the older woman, Theo’s mother, he’d been told, held out a fresh cup of tea that he gratefully accepted. She was looking him up and down, curiously. “If you don’t mind me asking… How did you end up with them? I’ve never heard of any humans travelling with the wolf-people. Are you perhaps a trader?”

“No, I’ve been living with the Lykar,” he emphasized the word, “for some time. As you can see, they’re good people.”

She nodded. “Yes, we’re very grateful. If you hadn’t come, we would…”

“We’re grateful we were in time,” he assured her, then returned the curious look. “This also means I’ve been out of touch with anything going on in the kingdom of Azinth. I didn’t even know there were farmsteads and villages this far East.”

“Many believed that moving away would keep us safe from the attacks. They’ve been focusing more and more on the large villages and even small towns close to the capital.” She sighed, eyes filling with tears as she looked around. “Clearly we were wrong.”

“I heard of people settling far north, in the Deep Forest, being attacked. Have you heard anything about that?

"No..." She looked to her son and daughter-in-law, but they shook their heads.

“No, sorry. Most of our news is from nearby, or the Kingdom itself,” Mariah said. “And besides bad news about the raids, it’s mostly gossip.”

“Gossip?”

“Oh yes. It seems frightfully shallow to talk about it now, but my eldest could tell you all about it. Royal wedding plans are always exciting for young girls, aren’t they?”

“Royal weddings? Is the King remarrying?” That would make sense. He wasn’t that old, and had been a widower for many years.

“The king? No. The Princess! She’s engaged to a dashing Captain, very handsome, and strong too, I’m told.”

A handsome Captain? Had Markor survived after all? Sudden joy spread in his chest at the thought, only to be crushed at her next words.

“Kovik… Kosad… something like that. He rose through the ranks after the tragic… incident, some years back. He was a great support through her difficult time, and it seems romance eventually blossomed.” She beamed at him, but he was unable to return her smile.

“Kovak? He’s a Captain now? Marrying the Princess?” Memories from the courtroom burst into his mind. The red, tear-struck eyes of the Princess, the chains on his ankles, the realization of what he’d done. Kovak. Every word he’d spoken drilled into him once more.

Then he froze, staring at her. She knew what he did. Knew about the incident. But she just kept chatting, though the words were lost to him. Pulling the sleeve further down to cover his bandaged right hand, he took a deep breath. She didn't recognize him. And why would she? They'd never met, and he was older now, not fitting the description of the stories he was certain still flourished.

 Another deep breath and her words came back into focus. 

“Yes. The Princess is still young, and so pretty. Everyone’s so happy she found love again.”

“Mhm,” Elian swallowed his answer with a big gulp of tea, desperately looking around for something else to talk about.

“It’s a nice place you have here,” he tried clumsily, wincing inwardly. Some of the whitewashed walls had scorch marks on them, blackened circles close to the doors and windows.

“What happened there?” Elian asked, now with real interest. “Did you try to scare the bugs off with torches?” Would that even work? Would normal fire frighten the buggers?

“No, not us,” Mariah said. “Some… some of those creatures they lit up… and then they caught fire, burning whatever they were close to.”

“Wait… they exploded?”

“I guess you could say that. One of them did when Theo stabbed it with a hay fork. The others…” Voice breaking, she stared at the marks.

“The others went after the girls. Trying to get inside.” Theo’s voice was tense. “Fortunately, our walls are sturdy.”

“That’s fortunate indeed,” Elian agreed, not letting his feelings show on his face. The exploding bugs were targeting children… It must be a coincidence. Yes. They probably sensed food inside the house.

At least they were safe now. The pups and children came running in, breaking the mood as they showed off their baskets. They’d salvaged two full baskets of slightly trampled corn ears, still in their leaves, along with some berries and carrots.

“They didn’t get most of the root veggies,” the eldest daughter announced, and got a relieved sigh from her parents. There was still plenty of food left then. They’d survive. “We’ll go check on the potatoes next. And the raspberries. And find the kittens.”

They darted off again, leaving the adults to put the food away.

“Some grilled corn and flatbread will go nicely with the soup,” Ryn said, selecting the most damaged ones to use before they'd go bad. “Elian-dear, could you fetch the flour and some water for the dough?”

“Of course.” Most of their packing was neatly piled next to one of the repaired fences. “I’ll find it. Some spices too?”

“You read my mind. Perhaps some nuts and dried fruits too.”

“Sweetbreads?” He grinned. “I’m on it.”

Just as he got on his feet, a muffled bang, followed by another, made everyone look around. Were the bugs back? No, the trampled fields were as empty as before. Ryn wrinkled her nose, looking behind Elian.

“I smell smoke.”

Smoke? They scrambled to their feet, looking for the source, spreading out across the small courtyard. Then.

“The barn!”

Pale smoke was seeping through cracks around the doors and window latches, as well as the larger holes under the roof. But how…? Could it have been sizzling unnoticed until now? Without a single Lykar noticing? Unlikely. Elian took a step back. 

If that barn was filled with hay and straw, it was already lost.

“Water?” Rhaen looked to the human family, and Mariah ran to the well where a pile of large buckets was waiting. But the barn was huge, and the fire was already flickering through the cracks. Buckets of water were being passed forward, hand to hand, when the doors of the barn burst open. Coughing, small shapes tumbled to the ground, a wall of fire flaring up behind them.

One pup. Two human children. Two pups were coming running from the fields, baskets dangling from their hands. 

That made three pups.

There should be five.